The Music Industry and the Legislative Development of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's Online Service Provider Provision

The online service provider provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act—Section 512 of the Copyright Act—limits the liability of online or Internet service providers whose users infringe the copyrights of others. While the provision limits liability, it also offers significant powers to a copyright holder seeking to prosecute online copyright infringers. This article traces the legislative development of the provision, examining initial opposition by copyright holders in the music industry. That opposition changed to support after considerable expansion of the original proposal. The article concludes that the music industry successfully lobbied within a three-month window before the first version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was presented to Congress in May 1998. The expanded version of the provision included substantial new subpoena powers and takedown requirements.